Showing posts with label Queen Anne's Lace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Queen Anne's Lace. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

An Appropriate Snow (SWF)

Snow on Queen Anne's Lace


Snow on Field

Sometimes snow just feels right.

In the same way that a thunderstorm
clears the heaviness from a summer day, only colder,

or the spot beneath your pillow
cools your cheek on a still, breezeless night, only fluffier,

or a bright new carpet without a step upon it
lights up the room you’ve looked at for years, only larger.

A man takes an oath for change
before a million sparkling faces standing as one.
And it feels like snow.

Snow


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Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Captive Caterpillar on the Run(way)


I persuaded my captive caterpillar to model his flowery outfit,
his runway an upturned pencil in the vase where his flower had been.










Synchlora sp. on Queen Anne's Lace

Can you find him here?
Click on images to enlarge

Synchlora caterpillars disguise themselves within the flowers on which they feed by adorning their bodies with flower pieces cut from the same plant. As old pieces wilt and turn brown, they are replaced with new, making it almost impossible for prey to find them unless they move.

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Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Have you seen...


Just when you think you’ve seen it all, been there, done that, outsmarted the tricks of camouflage and mimicry—along creeps another.
And gives new meaning to the term, “decorating with flowers.”

This little Synchlora caterpillar blends perfectly with the Queen Anne’s Lace from which he's feeding, and for good reason. He’s cut pieces of the flower around him and attached them to hooked bristles on his back! As those wither, he replaces them with fresh new ones—and continues to feed beneath his flowery disguise.


Unlike many other caterpillars who require a specific host plant, Synchlora caterpillars are able to feed from a variety of plants.
Picking and arranging flowers as they go.
Yellow, purple, orange or red.

Maybe you’ve seen them?
Or maybe not!


Synchlora sp. feeding on Queen Anne's Lace


"Have you seen...." is an effort to discover the unusual beauty in things not usually appreciated for their beauty.




There's more information about these intriguing creatures here.

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Thursday, August 7, 2008

Queen for a Day




















The previous collection of photos was taken over the course of several days.
Queen Anne's Lace fills the fields in late summer.
Her flower heads are home to many insects that both feed off her bracts and blossoms
or wait in their cover for prey.

(Did you find them all?)




Key:
photo 2: tiny unidentified fly
photo 6&7: Black Swallowtail caterpillar
photo 8: Aughochlorini sweat bee
photo 9&10: jumping spider #1
photo 11: ambush bug waiting to strike
photo 12: unidentified fly
photo 13: ambush bug capturing honeybee
photo 14&15: jumping spider #2
photo 16: orb weaver web


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